


No Pain No Gain

by masteroftheknightsofreylo



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Language, Soft Ben Solo, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Wholesome, Wisdom Teeth, minor description of blood?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-25 11:41:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22155478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/masteroftheknightsofreylo/pseuds/masteroftheknightsofreylo
Summary: After getting her wisdom teeth out, Rey finds comfort in her best friend, Ben Solo.
Relationships: Rey & Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 22
Kudos: 141
Collections: Reylo Hidden Gems





	No Pain No Gain

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry this is probably going to be tooth-rottingly fluffy, but I needed to get this out of my system. I need some good wholesome fluff after that cluster fuck of a film that JJ so lovingly provided.
> 
> Essentially this is all JJ Abrams's fault.
> 
> Also this has not been proofed I'm so sorry bc I can't write.

If growing up in the foster system for 14 years taught Rey anything, it was how to deal with pain. Physical or emotional, it didn’t matter. Being abandoned by your mother at a fire station as a baby and growing up with an abusive guardian toughened you up.

But when Rey was 15, she was adopted by Maz, a kind older woman who took Rey in as her own. She didn’t know why she felt the need to do this, but Rey wasn’t going to complain.

Maz made sure she had everything she needed to be comfortable, which was a first for her. She had clean clothes, a reliable source of food, and access to a real education. Compared to her previous lifestyle of working for hours upon hours in her "care-taker" Plutt's garage, she was practically being treated like royalty. Rey definitely couldn’t complain.

Except for her dental care, which had obviously been non-existent before. Rey could put up with all sorts of pain, and had gotten used to it. But she was still thoroughly unprepared for dental pain. Not that it was exceptionally terrible or anything. She simply hated the way it made her feel, the way the prescribed pain killers made her head swim, and the fact that her ability to eat was temporarily compromised.

At this point, Rey should definitely know that this wouldn’t be an issue anymore, and that she always had food now, but it still worried her.

Rey had finally reached the point in her life where she needed to get her wisdom teeth out. She’d been dreading this moment all summer long, knowing the misery that her friends Poe, Finn, and Rose all went though.

‘Honestly, they’ll knock you out, and then you’ll be up and out of there before you know it,’ Finn had told her a few days before, trying to console her. "That’s great and all, but then I’ll snap out of it at home with my mouth full of bloody gauze," she replied. Finn couldn’t hide his wince. She was right, after all.

Walking into the oral surgeon’s office that morning, Rey took slight consolation in knowing that she wouldn’t remember 90% of her time there. After a brief wait, Rey’s name was called, and she was lead down a hallway to a room. She got up in the chair, was laid back, IV put in, and next thing she knew she was out.

****************************

Waking up and getting out to the car was most definitely an ordeal.

All Rey could remember was (maybe?) getting in the car and going home. Getting in the house? She had no clue.

It had been about 2 hours since she had gotten home, and she was just getting around to waking up, and was thrown for a loop. ‘What the hell?’ was the only thing her brain could come up with.

She tried sitting up, finding herself on the couch in their apartment’s small living area, trying to spit the gauze out of her mouth. She quickly felt a hand on her shoulder, and snapped her head towards the direction of that hand. It was Maz.

“Rey, lay back down and keep that gauze in there. The surgeon said to leave it in for 2 or 3 hours after your procedure. You’re almost there,” she told Rey, gently pushing her back down on the couch. Rey relented, and slowly laid back down. This sucked. Whatever they’d given her was staring to wear off, and the pain was starting to become stronger.

“Give the gauze another 20 minutes or so, then I’ll give you one of the pain killers they prescribed,” Maz said gently, sensing her pain. She wasn’t biologically her mother, but Maz still hated seeing her girl in distress. Try as she might to take away all of Rey’s suffering, there were some things that were out of her control.

Still drowsy, Rey was beginning to drift back to sleep when Maz continued, “I also gave Ben a call. You wouldn’t stop asking for him on the way home. He said he’d be here a little after 2.” With that, she got up and left Rey to rest for a few minutes before giving her the prescription. ‘Did she just say Ben?’ she wondered, before glancing at the clock. 1:30. ’Surely I’m hearing things.’

“Rey?” she groggily heard Maz call her name, opening her eyes and finding her adoptive mother holding a glass of water and an empty bowl. “I have your pain medicine, if you wanted to take it now.” Rey slowly nodded, and began sitting up slowly. “You can also take that gauze out. You won’t need it any more unless there’s still some bleeding. The surgeon said you’d probably need some more to help with the oozing,” she continued. Rey shuddered. ‘Oozing’ was not a word she enjoyed under normal circumstances, let alone when it was being used to describe the state of her fresh incision sites.

Rey reached for the gauze in her mouth, gingerly opening her mouth and slowly pulling it out. She dropped each piece into the empty bowl in Maz’s hand. She had to look away. That was definitely not a sight she wanted to look at any longer than she absolutely had to. She knew deep down that she’d experienced worse in her short life thus far, and she knew that it was irrational for her to hate teeth the way that she did, but she couldn’t help it.

After the process of removing the gauze and downing the pill, Rey laid back down on the couch again.

As she was about to drift off to sleep again, Rey was startled by a gentle knock at their door. She was confused for a second, before her scrambled brain remembered. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was five minutes till 2.

’Shit,’ was all she could think.

It wasn’t that Rey didn’t want to see Ben right now. It was that she didn’t want _him_ to see her in this current state.

When Rey transferred schools after being adopted, the first person who even bothered to interact with her besides the teachers had been Ben Solo. Always quiet, sitting in the back of class, and seemed to be the social outcast of the grade. Her first day of school, she sat by herself at lunch, keeping her head down and trying to avoid everyone, when all of a sudden a tall, lanky boy with long untamed hair put his tray down across from her’s. She glanced up, hoping to avoid any sort of confrontation that would potentially take place.

“I’m Ben,” he’d simply said. “May I sit by you?” he asked. Rey blinked at him for a moment, before replying, “Sure.”

And that had begun their at first, awkwardly quiet coexistence at lunch, turning into an uneasy friendship, and then quickly becoming close friends.

Freshman Rey would never had believed it if she’d known that by senior year, Ben Solo would become her best friend, and, in her opinion, her soul mate. Sure she had a few more friends, but nobody understood her like Ben, and nobody had been there for her like he had been. Despite their drastically different upbringings, they both wanted the same thing; belonging.

Tall, lanky, not-fitting-into-his-own-body-yet Ben had finally begun to grow into his frame, and tamed his hair (slightly), causing Rey to see him in a new light. By the beginning of senior year, Rey realized that she was in love with her best friend.

Not that she was about to tell him that. As far as she could tell, he wasn’t interested in her like that. She wasn’t about to ruin their friendship like that.

******************************

Maz left Rey’s side and went to the door, opening it and greeting Ben. “It’s nice to see you again Ben,” she said, stepping aside and welcoming him inside. “Thanks for coming over. She kept asking to see you in the car on the way home,” she continued.

Ben smiled. “Of course. I knew how worried Rey was about this," he said.

“Ben?” Rey called from the couch, sitting up again. He look across the small living room to where she sat. “Hey, Rey,” he said, making his way over to her. He showed her the grocery bag he was holding. "I brought ice cream. I know you probably won’t be able to eat it right now, but I thought you might like it later. It’s vanilla,” he said. Rey smiled. Of course he knew her bland favorite flavor. “Thank you,” she said quietly. Even talking felt uncomfortable, to her surprise.

Maz came over, taking the bag from Ben. “I’ll put this in the freezer, unless you want some right now, Rey?” she asked. Rey shook her head. “I’ll have some later, thank you,” she answered. “Alright. I’ll leave you kids to it then,” she said, before walking into the kitchen.

Ben sat down on the unoccupied end of the couch. “How are you feeling?” he asked, resting his hand on her leg. “Wonderful,” she said sarcastically, giving Ben a small smile. Ben snorted. “Yeah, you sure look ‘wonderful’,” he automatically replied, then blushing when his brain processed what he’d said. Rey laughed softly. “Thanks.”

Ben laughed with her. Even though he didn’t mean to say that out loud, he still meant it. Despite the bags under her eyes and swollen lower half of her face and completely ratty outfit, he still thought Rey was the most beautiful young woman in the world. He felt that it was pretty obvious that he’d fallen head over heels for his best friend, but he’s lucky in that she didn’t seem to notice, despite what all of their friends had said about the two of them.

“I’m sick of laying on the couch. Will you help me to my room?” Rey asked, already trying to sit up. “Of course.” Ben stood, reaching out and placing a large hand on her back for support. She automatically reached a hand out, her head swimming even more now thanks to the pain killer she just took. Ben took her hand, and helped her to her feet with minimal wobbling.

With Ben’s help, Rey shuffled down the short hallway to her room, where she immediately got into bed and laid down, making herself comfortable as if she were going to sleep. He didn’t exactly know what to do from there. “Do you want me to go?” he asked hesitantly. Rey opened her eyes, blinking up at him in confusion. “No? You just got here. Of course I don’t want you to leave,” she said. “Besides, you’re my best friend,” she added for good measure. ‘Damn, these pain killers are really getting to me,’ a very small, very much not in control rational portion of her brain thought.

Ben blushed at this. He knew that she was his best friend, and he’s glad that she felt the same way. “Alright…. I’ll just…” he muttered, going to grab her desk chair to pull up to the side of the bed. “What are you doing?” Rey asked, seemingly confused. He turned back towards her. “I’m just grabbing your chair so I can sit by you,” he said, turning back to grab the chair.

“Why do you need a chair?” Rey asks, beginning to sit up. Ben snorted. “Well, I really don’t want to stand, so-“

“Lay with me,” Rey interrupted him. Ben froze.

Looking her in the eyes, he said slowly, “Rey, I think you’re still a little out of it. You don’t really mean that.” Rey shook her head. “I do mean it. I’ve wanted it for so long now, Ben. Please,” she pleaded, eyes beginning to water. “I hurt, and I just want you.” She sat there in bed, looking small and miserable.

On a good day, Ben couldn’t say no to Rey. But when she looked so put out by his initial reluctancy, he most definitely couldn’t refuse her.

Ben sighed. “Alright. As long as you don’t think you’ll regret this when you sober up,” he said, giving her a small smile as he walked towards her bedroom door and closing it. His heart rate instantly shot up. He shouldn’t be having this reaction. This definitely wasn’t the first time he’s been in Rey’s room with her alone with the door shut. Honestly at this point, Maz was probably used to it and didn’t suspect a thing.

‘Not that there’s anything to suspect,’ Ben’s brain helpfully reminded him. Being in her room was basically natural at this point. Except the most he’s done is sit on her bed next to her, either talking or playing video games or doing homework. He knows nothing is going to happen, especially under these circumstances, but he still couldn’t help his overactive teenage boy brain.

Ben slowly walked towards her bed, Rey still sitting up and watching him intently. He made it to the edge of her bed before pausing, returning her gaze as if to confirm her desire. When Rey nodded, he sighed, toeing his shoes off and pulling the covers back.

Rey laid back down, sliding over to make more room for him. When Ben finally laid down beside her, he was on his side facing her, still a solid foot between them. That is, until Rey decided to roll over so that her back was against his chest, wiggling to get herself tucked into him.

For a moment, Ben simply laid there, shocked that she would even want him in her bed, let alone want to be this close to him. It took his rattled brain a second to process what she was doing, before instinctually tucking his legs up behind hers, and wrapping his top arm around her, sliding his other arm under her head, where she had it tucked under his chin. When he did this, Rey let out a contented little sound, which pleased Ben a whole lot more than it should have.

“Thank you,” he heard her say a few moments after she got settled. “Of course,” he murmured. He felt her take his hand that was draped over her. “I really appreciate you coming over.” Ben hummed in acknowledgment.

After a few minutes of silence, in which Ben’s thought she’d fallen asleep. He’d closed his eyes, trying to will himself to relax, when he heard her whisper, “I was so scared today, Ben.” He tightened his hold on her. “I know,” was all he could say in reply. He knew that nothing he could say would help make it any better. The best he could do was to just be there.

“I know I shouldn’t have been worried about it, because Maz has always taken the best care of me, but-“ Rey couldn’t go on, her voice cracking, and felt her body shake with a sob. Seeing her so upset made Ben’s heart ache. “Hey,” he said gently, coaxing her to roll over and face him. She did slowly, looking up at him. He took in her tear stricken face, the red blotches appearing, her still swollen jaw.

“Rey, it’s ok to still be afraid,” he began, cradling her head in his large palm. He wiped at her tears with his thumb. She wrapped her arms around him, bringing herself as close to him as possible. “You have a reason to feel this way. What you’ve been put through….. I wish I was half as brave as you.” At this she looked up. “And I know you hate talking about your past, and I’m sorry to bring it up, but you’re such a strong person, and I admire you so much because of it.”

Good lord. Was he really going to have this conversation with her right now, when she was still on pain killers and miserable? ‘Great timing,” his brain chimed in.

Ben sighed. “I didn’t want to tell you this, because I don’t think you feel the same way, and that’s totally okay, and I don’t want you to hate me for saying this because I really value our friendship, but Rey, I really like you,” he said before his brain could catch up and stop himself. He blinked when he realized how much he’d just said. All he could do now was watch her expression until she answered, or kicked him out of her bed/life entirely. When Rey didn’t say anything for a moment, he started pulling away, as if to leave.

“I’m sorry, I ruined everything, I’ll leave-“

Rey reached out and grabbed his shoulder not letting him go any further. “Ben,” she said, pulling him back to face her again. “I love you,” she blurted.

Ben couldn’t believe it. ‘How…’ was all he could think, before he scooped her up in his arms and held her to him. He felt her wrap her arms around his chest, holding him close. They sat in silence for several minutes, just enjoying each other’s presence.

Ben pulled away far enough to look her in the eyes, before saying, “I love you too. I just never thought…” he trailed off as Rey smiled at him, and slowly reached up towards him, kissing him gently. Ben couldn’t help but smile into the kiss, as if this was the highlight of his life so far. Which it most definitely was. Ben tried to deepen the kiss, leaning into her and began parting his lips when he heard her wimper and pull back slightly.

“Oh shit. Sorry. I completely forgot…” but Rey cut him off with another chaste kiss. She pulled back, smiling up at him. “It’s ok. It doesn’t hurt that bad at the moment, but I don’t want to risk it,” she explained. “That’s fair,” he replied, gently pulling her back down on the bed, tucking her into himself as they laid down. “You’d better get some rest. You’ll need to recover so we can do _that_ again,” he smirked, glancing down at Rey’s giggly reaction. “Don’t worry. I intend to.”

As Rey made herself comfortable and began drifting off, the small non-drugged up part of her brain was shocked at how outright she’d been. ‘Maybe being loopy on pain killers isn’t a bad thing after all…’

*********************

Several hours later, as Maz was finishing up preparing dinner, she called out to Rey, letting her know it was almost time to eat.

No reply.

‘Interesting…’ she thought. Normally both Rey and Ben were ravenous, eating just about anything you’d put in front of them. Although now that she thought about it, she hadn’t heard anything from either of them for hours.

When she finished up, Maz left the kitchen, and made her way down the short hallway to Rey’s room, where she listened at the door for a moment. Normally she didn’t try to invade her privacy in such a way, but she was simply curious as to what they could be distracting them from the prospect of dinner. When she didn’t hear anything at all, she quietly opened the door.

When she stepped inside, Maz found Rey and Ben curled up together in her bed, sound asleep. She couldn’t help but smile. It had been obvious that these two had it bad for one another, but from what she could tell, neither of them could seem to pick up on it. She’d always thought that the two of them fit together perfectly, as if made for one another.

Maz sighed, stepping out of the room and quietly closing the door on her way out. She wouldn’t disturb them. Dinner could wait.


End file.
